Specifications: 

Bullet Diameter: .357 inches 

Twist Rate: 1:16 inches 

Muzzle Velocity: 2,100 ft/s 

Muzzle Energy: 1,762 lt-lbs 

Velocity at 200 yds: 1,466 ft/s 

Energy at 200 yds: 859 ft-lbs 

Effective Range: 200 yds 

Ammo Grain Range: 124gr - 255gr 

Growing up, we had two seasons for whitetail hunting. We had a bow season in October you could participate in unless you had a disability and could use a crossbow. Then we had rifle season in November and December. It was so warm during bow season that we never really chose to hunt then, especially during the pre-thermacell era. Instead, rifle season was everything for us, and we had two months to fill the freezer. 

In my youth, I contributed as much as I could to filling the freezer with my Remington 22-250. It may be a surprise that this rifle was my go-to for years because of how small of a caliber it is. My dad chose this caliber for me because of its almost nonexistent recoil, but it doesn’t leave much room for error so I had to be selective with my shots. It proved to be an efficient tool in my hands and I was able to take deer past 250 yards; I even took down a 300+ lb pig with it. 

If the 350 Legend had been around back then, I’m sure it would have been my first rifle caliber. Since it was introduced back in 2019 it has become a wildly popular caliber, especially in states with straight wall seasons. 

Straight Walls 

In traditional firearms, you have a large case filled with powder that tapers down to hold a smaller diameter bullet. That necked-down cartridge gives you more pressure, pushing the bullet down the barrel of your rifle, which then gives you a much faster, flat shooting projectile that you can push to farther distances than if you did not neck that cartridge down. Many states have seasons that don’t allow for that type of necked-down cartridge for one reason or another. Historically, states would have seasons that required a hunter to use only a muzzleloader or a shotgun slug, but now we’re beginning to see an emergence of states coming out with regulations allowing for straight wall cartridges. 

350 Legend 

Winchester introduced the .350 Legend at the 2019 ???SHOT show and it was the first cartridge they released since 2004. The reasons I think this would have been my first rifle are the same reasons most people are drawn to it: 

It has very light recoil (less than a .243). 

Even with its light recoil, it’s a .35 caliber bullet similar to the diameter of a 9mm. 

It’s lethal—out to 200 yards on deer-sized game. 

It has a wide range of bullet offerings. After a quick search here at the end of 2024, we can find ammo from 124 grains up to 255 grains. 

Its ammo is cheaper than some other ammo ($25 - $40). 

Good For Bears? 

With its light recoil, a large diameter bullet, two football field effective range, a wide bullet offering, and ammo affordability, it’s a top choice for almost anyone not wanting to stretch past 200 yards. This caliber is a good choice for bears too. My dad used his CVA Cascade chambered in .350 Legend on a 200+ lb bear last year and it proved to be more than capable on the bear. He used copper ammo on that hunt and got double penetration. He has also had great success shooting hogs and deer in Texas using the Winchester Deer Season XP 150 grain ammo. 

Out-of-the-Box Shooter 

We bought two new CVA Cascade SBs, and out of the box they were shooters with both boxes of ammo we tried. We could count on shots being within an inch at 100 yards and sometimes shots within the same holes. We set up some steel targets at 150 yards and shot as fast as we could work the bolt and hit it with every shot. You can find a .350 Legend offering from many manufacturers and it looks like it is here to stay. 

Competition 

The newest straight wall competitor to the .350 Legend is the .360 Buckhammer released by Remington last year. But we’re not sure if it will catch on the same as the .350 Legend has. It has claims to outperform the .350; however, it is difficult to find its ammo on the shelves and the only rifles chambered in .360 so far are made by Traditions and Henry firearms. With the purchase of Remington Ammunition and other ammo companies held by the Kinetic group, it will be interesting to see what happens with the future of the .350s competition.